One of the most important tourist destinations of the world
Roma with 2.9 million residents is the 3rd most visited city in the EU, after London and Paris, and receives an average of 7-10 million tourists a year
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| Only less than two hours flight! |
As we well know London and Paris (visited several times), we decided to have a tour to the capital of Italy from Dec 15, 2014 to Dec 19, 2014
Roma celebrates its long history with monuments, churches and restored
ruins dated from the great Roman Empire. So, the list of what to see in Rome is
very long
Among all, we tried to explore
the best attractions and world famous
sites…
- Colosseum
The most famous Roman amphitheater and the most impressive monument of
ancient Rome
The Roman Colosseum celebrated the gladiator games at this huge entertainment arena
The first bloody fight took place in A.D. 82, starting a tradition of battles between men and beasts in a public forum with could seat about 60,000
The Roman Colosseum celebrated the gladiator games at this huge
entertainment arena
- Arch of Constantine
Outside of the Colosseum, is the Arch of Constantine, which was built
in 315 to commemorate the victory of Constantine over Marcus Aurelius Valerius
Maxentius
- Roman Forum
In ancient Rome, the Forum was the center of city life, playing host to festivals, celebrations, funerals and rituals
This gigantic ruin was the home of all Roman government, the site of Julius Caesar's assassination, and the home of Rome's Vestal Virgins
- Piazza Navona
The loveliest squares of Roma with the large public
The square contains 3 fountains, and the largest and most memorable is Bernini's
Fountain of the Four Rivers with each of the 4 statues representing a river
from different continents
- Trevi Fountain on the Piazza di Trevi
The tradition is to toss a coin into the fountain over your left
shoulder to ensure you come back to Rome soon!
Unfortunately we couldn’t do that because we found some works in progress restoring the god Neptune riding in a shell-shaped chariot led by seahorses
Money collected (nearly €3,000 each day) is used to support food programs for the city's poor- Piazza di Spagna and Spanish Steps
The Spanish Steps may be the longest and widest staircase in all of
Europe
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| A Barcaccia fountain bubbles at the foot of the steps |
Vatican
City
Even though it's located in Rome, Vatican City has been an independent
state since 1929 with its own flag, coins and stamps
It even has its own militia, the Swiss Guard, which protects this
state, the Pope and the 800 full-time citizens and visiting residents
The first impressive site is St. Peter's Square itself designed by Bernini in the late 17th century then St. Peter's Basilica
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| Zoom to the pope Francis during his audience |
There was a party atmosphere at the Vatican on
Wednesday (December 17, 2014) as hundreds of pilgrims sang Happy Birthday to
the pope and thousands danced the tango to mark his 78th birthday
We were among the crowd of pilgrims singing Happy Birthday
to Pope Francis as the pontiff turns 78
(video from theguardiannews linked below)
to Pope Francis as the pontiff turns 78
(video from theguardiannews linked below)
